Amusement-steps.



J. H. GROSS. AMUSEMENT STEPS. APPLICATION FILED inn: 1B, 1908.

Patented MarQQ, 1909.

2 SHEETS-*QHEET 1.

Willi III ATTORNEYS THE mamas PETERS 5a., WASHINGTON. n. c.

J. H. GROSS.

L-.- WITNESSES I INVENTOH of Jo/372E624;

' By M ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 9, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

JOHN H. CROSS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

AMUSEMENT-STEP S.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 9, 1909.

Application filed June 18, 1908. Serial No. 439,120.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. CRoss, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and Improved Amusement-Steps, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention has in view an amusement apparatus in the nature of steps, certain of which are adapted to sustain the weight of a person, and others designed to sink under slight pressure. These two types of steps, which, for the purpose of convenience, I term firm steps and yielding steps, are arranged in sections and so distributed in a stairway that the same cannot be traversed or climbed over without taking a circuitous route, which route is adapted to be changed by the unlocking or locking of certain of the yielding steps.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal view through a stairway or flight of steps embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a plan of the same, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the stairway, looking from the rear.

The steps are preferably constructed to present the customary appearance in order that they may not excite the suspicion of the casual observer. The stairway which I make of the steps is divided in the direction of its length into a convenient number of sections, each section being made up of a number of step sections to all outward appearance of the same form and construction. (/ertain of the step sections 5 are hinged at their rear edges, and their forward portions are held normally in a natural position by weighted arms 6, these arms, as shown in Fig. 1, being rigidly attached to the underside of the step and turned rearwardly therefrom in orderto give the requisite amount of leverage.

The yielding steps and the firm steps which make up the stairway are so distributed that in order that a person may traverse the same it is necessary t at he or she take a circuitous route, the distribution of these steps, as shown in Fig. 2, being such that they can be walked upon only as indicated by the heavy dotted lines. In connection with the stair way I have shown means for locking certain of the yielding steps, which consists of an actuating lever 7 attached to one end of a cross-shaft 8, which in turn has one or more arms 9, two being shown, each of which is connected by a link 10 to a lever 11, the said lever being fulcrumed to the under side of one of the firm steps and pivotally attached intermediate its length to a latching-bolt 12 adapted to be projected underneath the edge of an adjacent yielding step. When these latches are projected in the particular arrangement of the steps illustrated in Fig. 2, the steps may be passed over along either route indicated by the dotted lines, but when these bolts are retracted, only one route is possible.

By changing the combination of the firm and yielding steps the device is obviously rendered all the more amusing, since after an one has learned aparticular route by which the steps may be traversed, in attempting to demonstrate'this to his friends, may find to his mortification that he did not have the knowledge that he thought he had. It is obvious that all of the step sections might be made of the same construction, and those ste sections which are to serve as firm steps be ocked, as by the latching-bolt 12, in which case it would be possible to present numerous and various routes for the solution of the pedestrian.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new-and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A stairway composed of a number of steps, each step being divided into a number of firm and a number of yielding sections.

2. A stairway composed of a number of steps, each step being made up of a lurality of sections, certain of which are yiel ing, and means including a manually-controlled lever for locking certain of the yielding sections.

3. A stairway composed of a number of steps, each step being divided into a number of firm and a number of yielding sections, and means for locking and unlocking certain of the yielding sections.

4.. A stairway having irregularly arranged firm step sections and yielding step sections.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN H. CROSS. Witnesses:

PHILIP LEVINE, W. A. CHERRY. 

